William Jackson (Australian soldier)
Australian soldier (1897–1959); recipient of the Victoria Cross
John William Alexander Jackson, VC (13 September 1897 – 4 August 1959) was an Australian recipient of the Victoria Cross (VC), the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.
Jackson was awarded the Victoria Cross in 1916 for selfless courage under heavy fire while rescuing his comrades near Armentières in France during the First World War. Jackson is the youngest Australian to have been awarded a Victoria Cross. His was the first VC to be won by an Australian on the Western Front.
Early life
John William Alexander Jackson was born on 13 September 1897 on "Glengower" station, near Gunbar. Known as William or Bill, he was the fourth child of John Gale Jackson and Adelaide Ann (née McFarlane). His mother died in 1905 and the six surviving children were raised by her parents at "Seaton Park" (a district property). William and his siblings attended the Gunbar School and William later found employment on local properties.
First World War
On 15 February 1915, Jackson enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force in the first group of volunteers from Gunbar. In order to do so, with his father's approval, Jackson had raised his age by one year.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “William Jackson (Australian soldier)” is australian soldier (1897–1959); recipient of the Victoria Cross. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through William, Jackson and Australian, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “australian soldier (1897–1959); recipient of the Victoria Cross” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
Named sources, stable identifiers and responsible institutions provide the strongest route from overview to verifiable evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 15, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q8013394. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1897, 1959, 1916 and 1905.
A concise general-reference account can conceal disagreements about scope, terminology or the weight assigned to individual sources. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “William Jackson (Australian soldier)”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow William Jackson (Australian soldier) primary sources, William Jackson (Australian soldier) archive and William research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “William Jackson (Australian soldier)”?
- What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
- Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “William Jackson (Australian soldier)” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.